How much maintenence for a Garand?

[essayons21]

If you can't get ammo shipped to your home address for whatever reason, go set up a PO box.

If not most decently stocked gunshops have Korean, Greek, or Turkish surplus M2 ball or equivalent. Far cheaper than modern hunting ammunition and Garand safe. Most people get the adjustable gas plugs so they can shoot handloads, not to avoid them.

A Garand is more complicated than an SKS, but not a challenge for anyone with basic mechanical aptitude. As a bonus the CMP has a great how-to for detail stripping a Garand on their website.

You really should learn to strip and clean your guns. Field stripping is simple, and most guns is GI (dummy) proof. Most can't really be put back together wrong, as long as you don't have any parts leftover when you are done. Getting to know the inner workings of the gun benefits you as a shooter, will allow you to diagnose problems, and is a safety issue.

 

[Flatbush Harry]

I just finished detail stripping, cleaning, lubricating and reassembling one of my M1s...took about 1-1/2 hours...and I know it will work as designed next time I take it out. I have another two with new stocks that I want to refinish so they'll get the same treatment.

If you can't learn how to maintain a firearm, you shouldn't own or use one.

FH

 

[dmazur]

Most can't really be put back together wrong, as long as you don't have any parts leftover when you are done.

I found out the previous owner of my Garand didn't use the Internet to learn about the rifle. The follower was in backwards. (!) I've read that it is possible to assemble this in four positions, only one of which is correct. (I can only vouch for two of them.)

+1 to learning to field strip as part of owning a rifle. Especially a military rifle, which seem to be designed to be taken apart to be cleaned as part of their specifications.

Now I'm not so sure I'd want to mess with detail stripping a Winchester 1895 or a Browning BLR...

 

[Driftertank]

Hehe...when I buy a new gun, I typically fieldstrip it and inspect it before I take delivery. Gets me looks ranging from mildly impressed to "what a nut."

Think most people who sell guns are used to selling people who are doing well if they know how to hold one right.

Had another experience where a young guy with a brand-new AR-15 had half a dozen boxes of steel cased Wolf at the range and got 'er jammed up. He was getting ready to pack it in for the day because he didn't even know how to open it up. Me and my buddy (who was in the Corps, and intimately familiar with them) popped it open for him, popped the broken casing out, re-set the extractor, and told him AR's don't like steel.

In another case, another young kid with an AR had a bad round (remanned LC stuff) that popped the primer and ruptured the case, and the extractor had pulled through the case rim in the process. He was also ready to pack it in for the day. He at least knew how to open his action, but he didn't have a cleaning rod. I pulled the one off my SKS (which fits PERFECTLY in a .22 barrel, small end first), got his ruptured case out, inspected his bolt and chamber, and got him back to merrily popping away.

Did I mention I'm not a big fan of AR's? At least not with cheap ammo....

 

[skidooman603]

a small addition to all of the excellent advise offered up already...I use the Otis Sysytem (flexible cleaning rod) so I can clean from breech to Muzzle